From Melbourne to Forest Espresso: Why I’m Returning to Learn More

I learned to be a barista in Melbourne.

It’s where everything began — behind the bar, steam curling up into the morning light, learning from world-class baristas who treated coffee as craft, not just product.

Those early days shaped everything I know about coffee.

It wasn’t just technique — it was rhythm, precision, and the quiet pride in doing small things well. Melbourne taught me that cafés are about more than drinks. They’re about how people feel in a space, how light and sound shape experience, and how community can form around something as simple as a cup.

Bringing Melbourne Back to the UK

When I eventually returned to the UK, I brought that mindset with me.

I worked in and managed cafés, carrying the same standards I saw in Melbourne:

respect for detail,

calm under pressure,

pride in creating connection.

That foundation became Forest Espresso — built not just to serve coffee, but to create moments. Moments of pause, of ritual, of taste. Forest has always been about more than caffeine. It’s about what coffee makes possible: creativity, conversation, community.

Why I’m Going Back Now

But coffee culture doesn’t stand still.

It evolves — in design, in service, in how people experience it. And Melbourne is still one of the places leading that evolution.

I’m not going back as a beginner this time.

I’m going back as a founder — to study what’s next. To explore how Melbourne cafés are blending hospitality with design, how they’re building culture, how they’re pushing standards even higher.

Because if Forest is going to keep growing, I have to keep growing too.

Staying a Student

Going back isn’t about retracing my steps.

It’s about returning with new eyes — curious, open, ready to learn again.

Coffee taught me discipline.

Melbourne taught me culture.

Forest taught me responsibility.

Now it’s time to bring all of that full circle.

Forest Espresso began in Melbourne.

Now I’m going back to learn more —

to bring new ideas, new energy, and new inspiration home.